Sounding device for dolls and other toys



July 3, 192s. 1,675,358

A. KONOFF SOUNDINU DEVICE FOR DOLLS `AND OTHER TOYS Original Filed June 22. 1922 Patented July 3, 17928.

i UNITED STATES;-

` WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OFDELAWARE SOUNDING DEvICE FOR DOLLS AND OTHER TOYS.

Original application led June 22, 1922, SerialNo. 570,209. Divided and this application led Octeber 29,.

1824. Serial No. 746,672.

to sounding or talkingdevces, so-called,` for use in connection with dolls, and it resides in the novel sounding or talking device` hereinafter described and claimed, to be positioned within the body of a doll or other toy and which device will remain inactive` when the doll is in one position and operate to emit a sound, as talking or crying, when the doll is placed in another position.

One purpose of the inventionis to provide a comparatively simple, durable, easily constructed and highly elicient sounding or talking device to be placed within the body of a doll and which will, byvpreference, be capable of giving the wellknowii ina-ma 01"pa-pa sound when the doll is changed from one position to another.`

The device of my invention comprises an exterior box or casing, a tubular bellows located therein and secured at one end` to one end thereof, a piston `secured to the other orfree end of the bellows and adapted of its own weight to collapse the bellows when the casing is turnedto one position and to elongate the bellows whenl the cas-V ing is turned to a reverse position, a central stationary shaft extendinglengthwise of the casing and through the aforesaid piston and serving as a guide therefor, a sound-box carried by said piston and having an aperture through which said shaft freely extends, and a reed secured in said head and opening into said sound-box, said Vshaft Vbeing recessed or grooved annularly sothat as the piston on the bellows is moving along saidl shaft and collapsing thebellows and driving the air therefrom throughthereed, the outow of air from the sound-box through said aperture therein may be `interrupted bythose portions of the shaft at the Sides of said annular grooves when saidportions are respectively within said aperture and be free when the annular grooves in saidv shaft coincide, respectively, wit-lifthe aperture in the sound-box, this alternate i1iter ruption and release `ofthe flow ofairffrom the sound-box resultingin the reed efficiently lgiving distinct sounds `or intonations of the ina-ma or pa-pa character.

This application is a `division of my co- .mechanism as having been operated.

` Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the same, taken on the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. Alis a horizontal section throughthe sametaken on the dott-ed line 4 4 of Fig. 2, all H Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the sanie, a `portion of the covering` of cheese-cloth or theflike for the `box or casing being shown as partly broken away. Y In the drawings, 10 designates a cylinf 'PATENT oFFlca ,t

ALEXANDER IKONIOFFyOF` NEW YORK, N. Y.,` ASSIGNORTO VOICES INCORPORATED, OIF'V paratory to being operated on being reversed drical box -or casing preferably formed of paste-board and havingr in its side walls "a series of horizontal rows of apertures 11. At the top andbottom of the box or casing 10 I provide reinforcing disks 12, 13respectively. -of indurated fibre or other reasonably stiff material, and exterior to said disks 12,13 and servingto hold the same in position, I provide the` box or casing 10 with caps 14, 15which, with said disks, serve to close the vends of the box or casing 10. Thedisks 12, 13 add` strength to the structure and are centrally apertured to receive reduced end portions 16, 17 formed on a central stationary shaft 18 constituting one of thefeatures of the sound producing mechanism and Whichbecon'ics rigidly positioned between the disks 12, 13, the ends of said shaft adjacent to thegreduced portions 16, 17 thereof being in abutting relation to the facing sides of `said disks, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The shaft 18 is annularly recessed or grooved, as at 19, 2O, the groove 2O being wider than the groove 19 and both` of said grooves at their end portions being tapered or conical, as at 21. Aside from the annular grooves 19, 20, the shaft 18 is a plain cylindrical shaft and is divided by the annular grooves 19, 2O into an elongated end section 22, a less elongated opposite end section 23 and an intermediate section 24, the section 2s`being between the annular grooves 19, 20.

Within one end. of the box or casing 10 is secured a bellows 25, this bellows being of flexible material and in the form of a tube or bag, one end of which is caught between the side flange of the cap 15 and the adjacent outer side surface of the box orl casing 10,. as indicated at 26, whereby the bellows becomes at one end firmly secured in position. The opposite end of the bellows 25 is secured to a metal piston 27 which is in the form of a. disk and extends across an rather snugly fills the transverse diameter of the box or casing 10. The piston or head 27 is formed with an annular groove 28 and receives a wire ring around which the inner end of the bellows 25 is wrapped and whereby said end of the bellows becomes firmly secured to the piston 27. In Fig. 1 I show the bellows 25 distended or elongated to its full extent by the pulling weight of the piston 27, while in Fig. 2 I illustrate the reverse position of the device and the bellows 25 as having collapsed under the pressing weight of said piston. Y

The piston 27 comprises a central sleeve portion 29 which fits, with reasonable clearance, the exterior portions of the shaft 18 and serves as an elongated guide for the piston 27 during its movements along said shaft. At its outer side the piston 27 is formed with a cylindrical flange 30 in whose outer end isrigidly seated a cap-disk 31 of indurated fibre or other rigid material having a central opening 32 of slightly greater diameter than that of the shaipt 18, upon which it moves. The flange 30 and cap 31 create a sounding chamber 33. At

one side of the sleeve 29 the piston 27 contains a boring 3-'1 within which, by means of a holder 35, is secured a reed 36 of or-V dinary construction, said reed at one end opening into the chamber 33.

The box or casing 1() has applied upon its exterior surface a layer of cheese-cloth 37, for the purpose of reventing the entrance of dust or the like tirough the apertures 11 formed in said box or casing.` The cheesecloth 37 is held in position and the caps 14, 15 are likewise secured in position by a coating of sealing wax or the like 38, applied over said caps and extending upon the adjacent edges of said cheese-cloth, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 5.

The cap or disk 31 is formed withv a venting opening 40.

lVhen the box or casing with its enclosed mechanism is turned tol the position shown in Fig. 1, the weighted piston 27 slides downwardly upon the shaft 18 and stretches out or extends the bellows 25 so that at such time said bellows is of cylindrical form closelyV adjacent to the inner sides of the box or casing 10. The movement of the weighted head or piston 27 to the position illustrated in Fig. 1 causes `the disk 31 to slide downwardly upon the section 23 of the shaft 18 and the sleeve 29 of said head to move downwardly upon the then upper end of said shaft section V23 and over the ansection 24 of the shaft being within the sleeve 29 and the then upper end of said sleeve partly encompassing the annular groove 2O formed in said shaft. When the head or piston 27 moves to the position shown in Fig. 1, the bellows or bag 25 bec-omes filled with air entering through the opening 4t() and reed 36 and at times through the hole 32 and around the shaft 18. It is the expulsion of the air from the bellows or bag 25 through the reed 36 which causes said reed to give forth its sound, and this sound is modified by the movement of the piston 27 along the shaft 18, the expulsion of the air from theV bellows or bag 25 and the sounding of the reed 36 taking place when the device is reversed so as to take the position shown in Fig. 2. When the device is reversed in positionso that the piston 27 is at the upper side of the vbellows or bag 25, said piston will slide down on the shaft 18 and collapse the bellows or bag 25, as shown in Fig. 2, and thereby force the air from within the bellows through the reed 36 and the opening 32 in the disk 31. The reed would make a rolonged sound in the absence of the annullar grooves 19, 2U and shaft sections 23, 24, and in order to modify the sound of the reed and cause it to produce they well-known ma-ma."7 or pa-pa sounds, the weight 27 first carries the opening 32 of the disk 31 from over the shaft section 23, which substantially closes said opening, and over the annular groove 19 which, not fitting the opening32, permits the sound to escape through said opening. lVhen, during the descent of the head 2,7, the opening 32 passes upon the shaft section 24, said opening Ybecome-s substantially closed and said section 24 by clicking said opening 32 effects a cessation of the sound of the reed. After the opening 32 in the disk 31, on the further descent of the head 27, passes from this shaft section 24 and upon the annular groove 20, the opening 32 again becomes free for the passage of air fromthe bello'wsand the reed is permitted again to give forth or emit its sound. The reed emits its sounds during the movement of the opening 32 in the disk 31 over the annular grooves 19, 2() in the shaft 18, the first sound, as ma, takin place when the opening 32 leaves the sha t Section 23 and Vnular groove 19 foi-ined in said shaft, the p opening 32 of the disk 31 leaving the shaft' section 24 and passing over t-heannular groove 20.

The sounds emitted by the reed 36 escape through the ro-ws of'perforations 11 in the box or casing 10, and I employ a considy erable number of the openings 11 so that the sounds of theV reed may freely escape, and as shown in Fig. 2, I have a row of the openings 11 along the line of the annular groove 19 in the shaft 18 and another row of said openings along the line of t-he annular groove 2() in said shaft, this disposit-ion of the openings 11 serving to facilitate the escape of the sounds of the reed from within the box or easing.

In the present instance the shaft 18 has two side recesses or grooves 19, 20, and I make use of the two recesses or grooves for the purpose of securing two distinct spaced apart sounds from the reed, as ma-ma, on each operation of the device. If the shaft 18 should only have one side recess or groove. as 19, the reed would only give one sound on each operation of the device, the duration of that sound depending on the width of the recess or grooves. If the shaft 18 should be formed with three of the side recesses or grooves, the reed would give three distinct sounds oneaeh operation of the device, one sound being emitted as the opening $2 passes each of said side recesses or openings.

For a proper interpretation of certain of the claims forming part hereof it is understood that the bellows present may be correctly considered to comprise opposite head parts connected together by the fiexible tubular member 25, one of the heads being the part 27 which is slidably supported by the shaft or post 18, and the other head being the bottom wall parts as 13, 14, and 38 of the easing. The bottom wall parts 13, 14 and 38 comprise a closure for both the lower end of the bellowsand the lower end of the casing. After the lower marginal portion of the bellows has been folded outwardly and upwardly about the lower end of the casing these closure parts are applied and serve to clinch and ela-mp the marginal portions of the bellows material against the material of the casing, and by the same means firmly hold themselves in position for properly supporting the shaft or post 18.

I have hereinbefore Vdescribed the preferred embodiment of my invention but desire it to be understood that I do not'confine the invention to all the details of form and construction shown and described since I am aware that many of these details may be modified within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined inthe appended claims.

Having thus described i my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z- 1. In a sound producing device, a casing, sound producing means enclosed within said casing including a flexible bellows wall having one end edge thereof turned outwardly around one end of the casing wall, closures for the opposite ends of said casing each having an annular flange to extend around the easing wall, and the iange of one of said closures having clamping engagement with said outwardly turned end edge of the easing wall, said casing wall having openings therethrough for the emission of sound, a

sheet of fabric material externally covering said casing wall and the sound emission apertures and extending at its ends upon the flanges of said closure members, and a sealing material completely enveloping each of the closure members and extending in wardly upon said fabric material beyond said flanges. v

2. In a sound producing device, sound producing means, an enclosing casing therefor having a cylindrical body wall provided with sound emission apertures, a sheet of fabric material enveloping said casing wall and extending over the apertures therein to exclude dust from the interior of the easing, and means for elfecting an air tight seal of each end of the easing including means extending upon said fabric sheet and securing the same to the casing wall.

y 3. In a sound producing device, sound producing means, an enclosing casing therefor having a body wall provided with sound emission apertures, a tubular sheet of fabric material enveloping said casing wall and extending over the apertures therein to exs clude dust from the interior` of the casing, a closure dise for each end of the easing, and means for retaining said closure dises in applied position engaged upon the opposite ends of said tubular fabric sheet and securing the same to the casing wall.

4..In a sound producing device, a casing, closures for the opposite ends of said casing, abellows within the casing having a flexible tubular wall one end edge of which is turned outwardly around one end of the casing wall, and aninitially plastic impervious sealing medium enveloping the latter end of the easing and the closure therefor and extending inwardly beyond the outturned edge of the bellows wall to provide an air tight seal between said closure, the end of the bellows wall and the casing wall. In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ALEXANDER KONOFF. 

